The knight, the dragon and the necromancer. Daert dilogy-1

Taking advantage of the pause, the girl bent down to pull up her boots. She was changing in a hurry. Alas, there was nothing better than a hunting costume for the upcoming battle in Rosa's trunk. Her mentor, however, had also changed her dress into a jacket, boots and trousers, wearing only a leather anatomical breastplate. It could only protect her from a thrown stone, but it looked spectacular, especially in combination with the bright blue cloak. Jeanne, on the other hand, was more thoroughly equipped, wearing a blued cuirass and gauntlets over a black man's suit, high boots, and long gloves of very thick black leather. On her left hip now hung a heavy sword, on her right a long dagger. Apparently, she has finished trying to fit in among the refugees.

— I hope they don't start the battle without us, because I have some things to pick up on the way. We're late enough as it is, — the red-haired donna said as she steered her horse away from the dusty road. When they left the path, they stopped in front of a huge stack of straw. Rosa frowned as she noticed the faint glow of magical energy in its depths. The necromancer said a few words, moved her fingers, and the stack moved. For a second the girl thought that her mentor had somehow managed to revive the straw. But no, of course not — two massive grey-black carcasses emerged from beneath the crumbling stack.

— Bulls! — Rosa shrieked. She'd had time to get used to her mentor's animated birds, even Luca. But something so big...

— They're a little sluggish because I kept them at minimum charge, — Vittoria explained with a smug smile. She was flattered by her student's reaction, and the necromancer did not think it necessary to hide it. — I'll pump them with energy on the way to the headquarters. How's that?

— Creepy, — Jeanne answered for the young sorceress.

— Yes. And... impressive, — Rosa said. The bulls weren't just slaughtered, they were resurrected, soaked in a preserving compound. They had been worked on after their death — some craftsman had fitted the horns of the constructs with sharp blades sticking out to the sides. An additional spike was also attached to the forehead of each of them. The blades were made of bronze, of course, but they looked frightening. As did the shabby skulls of the bulls, which seemed to have been deliberately skinned.

— Then you will help me. — The necromancer shook her palm in a thin suede glove, still smiling. — Try to transfer the energy to one of them. Right on the fly, for added complexity. Just don't worry. If anything goes wrong, I'll help you.

Marius and Toad joined their group on the way. The knight gave the necrobulls a glance, but said nothing. The dragoness sniffed at one, sneezed, and lost all interest in the creatures. Guess, she didn't find the red-haired donna's pets edible. As a result, the company that arrived at Marshal de Cotoci's headquarters was more than motley. The Loyalist officers, however, greeted the necromancer and her entourage calmly, as they were probably used to it. Vittoria took a seat beside the marshal, her companions huddled behind her. They were accompanied by messengers, aides-de-camp and guards.

The riverbed of the Shaanta lay in the lowlands. The gentle banks sloped down to the river on both sides, and the headquarters in the rear was thus elevated above the positions of the rest of the army. From the point chosen by the marshal, both the rebel and royal armies across the river were clearly visible. In the weeks of standing in one place, the armies had built solid fortifications at the fords — but the rebels had tried harder, for they intended to hold a long defence. A line of trenches, perambulations, earth ramparts and fences curved in an arc, with the flanks extended towards the river. The centre of the line was occupied by the Duc de Velonda's regiments. On their left flank were the Loyalist forces, the right flank was entrusted to the mercenaries, supported by one regiment of ducal infantry. Rosa did not need to know military science to realise that the Duke was exposing the allies and mercenary companies to the first blow, saving his own forces. The marshal, who looked even more sullen than the last time they met, obviously understood this. On top of that, the commander was clearly hungover — he was sweating, breathing heavily, rubbing his temples every now and then. Familiar symptoms that Rosa had seen more than once in her father and fellow students at the Academy.

— Are we not too late? — Donna Vittoria asked the marshal. He shook his head:

— Just in time. The sentries raised the alarm at the first movement on Auguste's position. It's just beginning.

— I don't see anything, — Rosa whispered to Don Marius. Before the knight could answer, a young officer in a dusty, fashionable hat handed her a spyglass. She smiled gratefully at him and put the eyepiece to her eye. Rosa's own telescope had been broken by nomads when they robbed her camp, and this one was much worse — heavy, weak, with cloudy glass. But it was better than nothing. Now the young sorceress could see what was happening on the other side of Shaanta.

Only three small mounted troops, probably scouts, had so far attempted to cross the river. The rest of Auguste's troops were lining up between the camp and the shore. The cannoneers were drawing their guns closer to the water. Dragons soared high in the sky — seven or eight, hardly more. The coordinated movement of thousands of people was mesmerising — like the bustle of an anthill. According to Don Marius, the royal army outnumbered the rebels twice as much, even though many infantry regiments stood on the border with the Empire, and a fair portion of the cavalry was trapping the nomads in the rear. Now it seemed to Rosa that this mass of thousands, glittering with armour and spearheads, was held back only by the flow of water. Once it crossed the river — and Auguste's army avalanche crawled forward, sweeping away everything in its path. The thin strip of fortifications did not inspire much hope. Swallowing, Rosa glanced quickly over her shoulder. She looked back at Toad. The green dragoness was lying quietly away from the headquarters, in the shade of a chestnut grove that had miraculously not fallen to the planks. Resting her head on her front paws, she squinted her yellow eyes in the direction of the statuesque necrobulls. The odds of victory were of little concern to her. Under the cover of the same grove the marshal's mounted reserve was stationed. Only fifty gendarmes in full armour, and fifteen hundred cuirassiers, protected only by body armour and helmets. All Loyalist cavalry. Ridiculous against the enemy forces — but these soldiers with black badges on their shoulders were filled with grim determination. They didn't sing, they didn't whisper, they didn't try to drown out their fear with jokes — just silently measured in their saddles, waiting for orders. Rose endeavoured to catch their confidence and Toad's calmness.

Auguste's mounted troops crossed the Shaanta and halted, staying close to the water. Half of the riders immediately dismounted. Some of them squatted or even got down on all fours, picking at the ground.

— What are they doing? — Marshal de Cotoci stepped forward, lowering his spyglass for some reason.

— Boom! — a cannon struck nearby. It was echoed by another, than a third... The rebel batteries were covered with white smoke, the wind carrying wisps of it along the river. Rosa expected to see fountains of cannonballed earth exploding around the hasty scouts. Instead, she saw a series of blue flashes flashing over the shore. Rectangles of blue fire flashed and went out over the heads of Auguste's soldiers. Not a single shell fell near them.

— Whoa! — Marius blurted out, and Rosa realised that the sparks of blue flame had been seen by everyone, not just mages.

— Screens! — Donna Vittoria lifted her chin, pressed her lips tightly together. — Magic screens.

— They are not scouts, but engineering squads with army mages. — De Cotoci nodded, turning pale. The marshal was hardly frightened, more like an acute headache. — They're putting shield projectors on our shore.

The faint sound of battle trumpets blaring across the Shaanta reached Rosa's ears. King Auguste's main forces moved in three large columns across the fords. The first to enter the water were the royal gendarmes, followed by the infantry. Cavalry and foot soldiers held so tightly that they merged even in the eyepiece of a telescope. It was as if three giant snakes had dived into the river. The heads of these snakes glistened with the silver of gendarme armour, and their bodies were as prickly as porcupines, and a forest of long pikes swayed above the lines of infantrymen.

The rebel cannons struck again, aiming for the fords — and again the magical shields shone, now higher. The cannonballs ricocheted off them helplessly. The shields were extinguished by the blows, but new ones flared up in their place.

— They covered the crossing from shelling. — The Loyalist Marshal's cheeks flared. — There must be bags full of amulet projectors prepared in advance, and the cannons couldn't reach them.

Now the trumpets sounded in the rear of the rebels. Behind the ramparts and fences in the centre the dust rose to the sky.

— General Monvant is sending cavalry to attack. He wants to throw the sappers into the water. — De Cotoci shook his head. He seemed to be feeling quite ill — sweat was running down his face, and the marshal wiped it away with his sleeve. — It's too late, they won't make it. Even our cavalry won't make it, even though we're closer.

Donna Vittoria tilted her head to her shoulder, her gaze distant. Rose didn't know her mentor very well, but she was definitely up to something. It didn't take long to guess what the necromancer had in mind — a few seconds later, the red-haired donna turned to Marius. She asked:

— Don Marius, have you had time to equip the dragon with protective amulets?

— Yes, milady. — The young knight's eyes lit up as he realised at once what was wanted.

— Can your dragon reach the shore before Auguste's army crosses the river?

— Yes, milady.

— Take the squad on our flank. — Donna shifted her gaze to the marshal. — Send a messenger to the batteries, have them ready that the shields on the left are about to fall.

Neither knight nor commander attempted to object. De Cotoci gestured to the messenger, and Marius, bowing briefly, rushed to Toad. Rosa slipped the borrowed spyglass to its owner and was off before she could think of a good reason for it. Already hurrying after the young man, and hearing the clanking of Jeanne's cuirass behind her, she threw it over her shoulder:

— I'm with him. We need a mage to locate and extinguish all the shield projectors.

In the back of her mind, she feared her mentor would stop her. But instead, the necromancer called out to the other person:

— Jeanne!

The student and her bodyguard looked back at the same time. The red-haired donna said with a chuckle:

— Take care of my student, but don't be fanatical, please. I need you alive as a witness.

— I promise nothing, milady, — the black-haired woman said, taking Rosa by the elbow. They ran up to Toad, a few steps behind the knight. Don Marius gave the girl a hand, and Jeanne pulled her up from underneath — a moment later Rosa was in the saddle. It would have been cramped for three, so Jeanne snuggled against the dragoness's side, gripping the harness straps tightly — it was enough for the short flight. Rose tightened the straps around her hips, pulled off her beret and put it in her bosom. She nodded to the knight. He clapped his pet on the neck and commanded, "Up!". A short run, a flap of mighty wings, and they soared over the battlefield.

— Can you control the amulets?! — Don Marius asked, shouting over the whistling wind. — Without control, they are delayed!

— I don't know! — The girl replied, clinging to the knight's waist — just like in the days of their journey together. — I'll try, but don't count on it...

She squeezed her eyes shut and mentally reached for the protective amulets woven into Toad's harness. At least the powers that had raised her to the second level of magic were good for something. Rose didn't need to touch each amulet with her hand to touch the energy that filled it. She couldn't do subtle manipulations without direct contact, but she could make the amulet work on command.

There was no time to make a proper judgement, for Toad had travelled the distance to the shore in the blink of an eye. If there were dragonbane guns across the river, they had no time to react to the spurt. Rosa kept her eyes open, and through her lowered eyelids she could see the colourful lights below. Amulets of the king's mages, shield projectors installed and waiting to be used. The shields themselves seemed to be transparent bluish films of flawless rectangular shape. Even with magical vision they could barely be distinguished. The fires were getting closer, growing in size — and suddenly one of them flashed scarlet. Flame! Rose jabbed her imaginary finger at the amulet hanging from the dragoness's shoulder, and the oncoming stream of fire dispelled the flaming arrow that struck from the ground. Toad dived sharply downwards, under the edge of the force shield floating in the sky. The girl fell backwards against her will, and then hit her forehead against Marius's helmet.

— Oh! — she shrieked, opening her eyes.

— Get ready! — The young knight didn't even turn round. — Now!

The dragoness touched the ground in a puff of dust, and the student saw Jeanne jumping down. Hastily unbuckling her harness, Rosa also rolled down the lowered wing, almost tumbling, wiping her trousers on the scales. Don Marius remained in the saddle. With a rumbling roar, Toad rushed forward, throwing aside the riders in green caftans who got in her way. The girl shook her head and looked round. They were barely fifty paces away from Shaanta — Rose could see Auguste's gendarmes who had reached the middle of the river. Steel-clad riders on stout cowhide and black horses were advancing in a living wall, shoulder to shoulder, stirrup to stirrup. Hundreds of tiny rainbows surrounded them as the sun's rays pierced the watery dust. On her right hand a dozen cavalrymen of the vanguard were fleeing from the dragon, on her left Jeanne was already engaged with three soldiers — she was spinning, attacking one or the other, deflecting blows with the dagger in her left hand. A corpse lay at the feet of the fighters, its chest bound by a sling of flasks and pouches — the woman had knocked out the enemy mage first. In front of Rosa's eyes her maid-defender took the blow of the sword on the cuirass and with a quick lunge drove the sword into the throat of the opened enemy. The girl didn't look any further — she rushed to where she saw the magical glow. A copper pin with a round cap was sticking out of the ground. The cap was covered with intricate patterns weaving around a black and green gem. An amulet projector, not yet discharged. The girl dropped to her knees in front of it, prodded it with her dagger, pulled it from the ground. She put her two palms around the pin, pressed it to her forehead, and whispered the necessary words. The shield projector emitted a low hum, vibrated. Somewhere up there, the magic screen became completely impenetrable for a brief second... and then went out. At the will of the young sorceress, the amulet spat out its entire charge in a single pulse — a simple trick that required no special training for an army mage. Dropping the now useless pin, Rosa rushed to the next one. She knelt down, exposing her dagger, and reached for the amulet....